Florida

  • June 02, 2025

    Defamation Litigation Roundup: Cheetos, NASCAR, OpenAI

    In this month's review of ongoing defamation fights, Law360 looks back on developments in a man's case against Frito-Lay Inc. over what he called the company's defamatory statements disputing his role in the invention of a flavor of Cheetos.

  • June 02, 2025

    US Looks To Dodge Suit Over Gulf Oil Well Risks

    The federal government is asking a federal court to toss environmentalists' lawsuit alleging that it's ignoring the fact that owners of retired offshore oil and gas drilling infrastructure are failing to properly shut down the facilities.

  • June 02, 2025

    Supreme Court Asks US To Weigh In On Hertz's Ch. 11 Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court invited the solicitor general Monday to file a brief in car rental giant Hertz's challenge to a Third Circuit ruling that as a solvent debtor it owed noteholders $272 million in interest and fees when it emerged from Chapter 11.

  • May 30, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Religious Land, Hotel Surge, Land-Banking

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including interviews with attorneys about recent disputes over land use for religious purposes, a surge in hospitality sector transactions, and the rise of land-banking law.

  • May 30, 2025

    Construction Co. Owners Beat Long-Runing Fla. Qui Tam Suit

    A Florida federal judge ruled in favor of the owners of a construction company accused of defrauding a program for disadvantaged small businesses in a qui tam, or False Claims Act, lawsuit, saying in her dismissal of the nearly decade-long case that it violates the U.S. Constitution.

  • May 30, 2025

    Fla. Trucking Co. Exec Gets 23 Years For Duping 1,600 People

    A Florida federal judge on Friday sentenced the former president of a trucking and logistics company to 23 years in prison for defrauding more than 1,600 people who invested millions of dollars in purchasing big-rig vehicles, calling the crime "a classic Ponzi scheme of staggering scale."

  • May 30, 2025

    NJ Pot Shop Fails To Prove Urgency In $273K Fund Dispute

    A New Jersey federal judge on Friday declined to unfreeze $273,820 of a dispensary's funding frozen in an account between a payment processor and a Florida bank, saying the dispensary hasn't shown it is at risk of insolvency without the money.

  • May 30, 2025

    Generic-Drug Makers Near Exit From Depo-Provera MDL

    Attorneys for the plaintiffs in a multidistrict litigation claiming Pfizer Inc. failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about the risk of brain tumors associated with the hormonal contraceptive Depo-Provera told a Florida federal judge that they are close to dismissing claims against three manufacturers of generic versions of the drug.

  • May 30, 2025

    Farm Groups' Challenge To H-2A Wage Rule Back On Track

    The U.S. Department of Labor failed to show it would be necessary to push back litigation challenging a Biden-era H-2A wage rule, especially in the context of farm groups' ongoing harm allegations, a Florida federal judge ruled.

  • May 30, 2025

    Diaz Reus Sued For Fraud, Conflict In Failed Miami Water Park

    A Florida consultant has sued law firm Diaz Reus & Targ LLP over allegations it created an adverse conflict of interest in ownership over a failed Miami water park when the firm's managing partner and his brother, another firm member, attempted to "strong-arm" him into reducing his interest in the venture.

  • May 29, 2025

    Fla. AG Says Letter To Cops Doesn't Rise To Contempt

    Florida's attorney general told a federal judge on Thursday that a letter he sent to law enforcement agencies saying he could not force them to comply with a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a state law criminalizing the entry of unauthorized immigrants did not rise to the level of civil contempt.

  • May 29, 2025

    Alston & Bird, Smith Mackinnon Steer $710M Fla. Bank Deal

    The holding company for Seacoast National Bank said Thursday that it would acquire Villages Bancorporation Inc., the holding company of Citizens First Bank based in The Villages, Florida, for approximately $710 million in a deal guided by Alston & Bird LLP and Smith Mackinnon PA.

  • May 29, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Order To Monitor Indian River Manatees

    Florida's Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it is appealing an injunction requiring the agency to implement new manatee monitoring programs after a federal judge found it violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing wastewater pollution into the North Indian River Lagoon watershed.

  • May 29, 2025

    LA Fitness Didn't Stop Patron From Molesting Minor, Suit Says

    LA Fitness has been hit with a $5 million lawsuit accusing it of failing to take action against a "violent and erratic" gym member who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at one of the gym's locations in Miami-Dade County, Florida, two years ago.

  • May 29, 2025

    Fla. Judge Denies Trainer's Bid To Block Horse Racing Law

    A Florida federal judge Thursday denied a horse trainer's bid to block enforcement of a horse racing law in his complaint challenging an anti-doping ban, ruling the trainer failed to show irreparable harm and that issues in his claim asserting a right to a jury trial aren't fully developed.

  • May 29, 2025

    NASCAR Wins Defamation Claims Over LGBCoin Sponsorship

    A Florida state court judge ruled in favor of NASCAR on defamation claims brought by the founder of the LGBCoin cryptocurrency regarding communications to journalists, saying a published statement that the meme coin was almost worthless was "undisputably true."

  • May 29, 2025

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Antitrust Claims Against Suns Owner

    The Eleventh Circuit isn't going to touch a lower court order that tossed an antitrust case against the owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and his company, United Wholesale Mortgage LLC, over an alleged boycott.

  • May 29, 2025

    Trump Names 4 Jurists, State AG Official For Fla. Judgeships

    President Donald Trump this week announced his nominations of four judges and a top official in the Florida Attorney General's Office to fill district judgeships in the Sunshine State's Middle and Southern Districts.

  • May 29, 2025

    'Dr. Cash' Gets 3 Years For Bilking Elderly Fund Investors

    A recidivist fraudster nicknamed "Dr. Cash" was sentenced in Manhattan federal court Thursday to three years in prison, after he admitted to defrauding clients who poured $4.8 million into his purported "Chairman's Fund."

  • May 29, 2025

    Fla. Panel Affirms Atty Conflict DQ In Construction Dispute

    In a one-word opinion, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court's decision to disqualify a plaintiff's attorney in a long-running construction ownership dispute after finding he briefly represented the defendant's surety company in a related matter.

  • May 28, 2025

    Pulitzer Board Can't Pause Trump Defamation Suit In Florida

    A Florida state appellate court on Wednesday denied a bid by the Pulitzer Prize Board to pause a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump after claiming the litigation would interfere with his presidential duties, ruling that temporarily halting the case is "solely in his prerogative."

  • May 28, 2025

    Law Firm's Suit Against AIG Unit Cut Down To Contract Claims

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday trimmed a law firm's suit claiming an AIG unit allegedly misled it into representing a sports memorabilia collector in underlying civil and criminal fraud cases without payment.

  • May 28, 2025

    SEC Says Florida Adviser Targeted Catholics In $17.3M Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a former investment adviser and his two Florida companies of misappropriating $17.3 million from dozens of clients, including elderly individuals and Catholic dioceses in Venezuela.

  • May 28, 2025

    Stay Won't Be Lifted On Claims Over $93M Real Estate Fraud

    Victims of a $93 million Miami real estate development scheme won't be able to pursue their claims — at least for now — against the company's former CEO after a Florida federal judge on Wednesday denied their request to lift a stay on litigation during a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission receivership.

  • May 28, 2025

    Fla. Judge Told Pharma Co. Rival Also Stole Trade Secrets

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday denied an India-based pharmaceutical company's bid to reject a competitor's defense against a lawsuit alleging trade secrets theft by claiming its accuser is responsible for the same conduct, expressing doubt whether she can rule on such an issue.

Expert Analysis

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings

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    Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • Fla. Ruling May Undermine FCA Whistleblowers' Authority

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    A Florida federal court's decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates last month will deprive relators of their ability to bring suits under the False Claims Act, limiting their capability to expose and rectify wrongdoings and potentially affecting billions in FCA recoveries, say Matthew Nielsen and Lily Johnson at Bracewell.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • Review Shipping Terms In Light Of These 3 Global Challenges

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    Given tensions in the Middle East, labor unrest at U.S. ports and the ongoing consequences of climate change, parties involved in maritime shipping must understand the relevant contract provisions and laws that may be implicated during supply chain disruptions in order to mitigate risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Defining All-Risk: Despite $30M Loss, Loose Bolt Not 'Damage'

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    A Massachusetts federal court’s recent ruling in AMAG Pharmaceuticals v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co., denying coverage for $30 million in damages claimed when a loose bolt caused an air leak, highlights an ongoing debate over the definition of “direct physical loss or damage,” say Josh Tumen and Paul Ferland at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

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    With the implementation of H.B. 989, the third quarter of 2024 has been transformative for banking law and regulation in Florida, and this new law places a strong emphasis on fair access to banking, and prohibits ideologically or politically motivated decisions by financial institutions, says Sha’Ron James at Gunster.

  • 11th Circ. Kickback Ruling May Widen Hearsay Exception

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    In a $400 million fraud case, U.S. v. Holland, the Eleventh Circuit recently held that a conspiracy need not have an unlawful object to introduce co-conspirator statements under federal evidence rules, potentially broadening the application of the so-called co-conspirator hearsay exception, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • 3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory

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    The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    Barrett Is Right: Immunity Is Wrong Framework In Trump Case

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    Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s concurrence in Trump v. U.S., where the majority opinion immunized former presidents almost entirely from criminal prosecution for official actions, rests on a firmer constitutional foundation than the majority’s immunity framework, says Matthew Brogdon at Utah Valley University.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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